NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 6 The Hundred Dresses – II WITH POEM

 

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 6 The Hundred Dresses – II

Oral Comprehension Check
Page 74

Question 1.
What did Mr Petronski’s letter say?
Answer:
Mr Petronski’s letter was to inform the principal and Miss Mason that Wanda would not come to school as she was fed up of being bullied in the school. They were going to shift to a bigger place where nobody would make fun of their last name.

Question 2.
Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?
Answer:
Miss Mason seems to be unhappy and upset rather than angry because she had never expected such a behaviour from the students. She wants everyone to think about it and asks them not to do look down anyone in the class.

Question 3.
How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?
Answer:
Maddie feels sorry and ashamed for the behaviour although she herself did not make fun of Wanda. She never tried to stop Peggy to do so and remained a silent spectator. She feels as a coward.

Question 4.
What does Maddie want to do?
Answer:
Maddie wants to amend her behaviour towards Wanda. She wants to meet her to apologise. She decides to find Wanda at her house at Boggins Heights. She also wanted to convey that all was meant in good humour and people really love her.

Page 76

Question 5.
What excuses does Peggy think of giving in justification of her behaviour? Why?
Answer:
Peggy tries to defend herself by saying that her
behaviour towards Wanda inspired her to explore her drawing skills as she sketches a hundred dresses and that makes her win the drawing contest.

Question 6.
What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?
Answer:
Maddie was feeling ashamed and apologetic for being a silent spectator while Peggy humiliated Wanda. She was feeling upset and distraught for Wanda and herself. She was also repenting for not stopping Peggy for behaving badly with Wanda.

Question 7.
Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?
Answer:
Wanda’s house was sparse, old and laded but neat and clean like her blue dress that she wore everyday to school. Thus, Maddie was reminded of the same old blue dress.

Question 8.
What does Maddie think hard about ? What important decision does she come to?
Answer:
Maddie thinks about not to be mute spectator anymore that she had been in case of Wanda. She promised herself about not letting any injustice happen to anyone even if she would have to lose a friend in this.

Page 79

Question 9.
What did the girls write in the letter?
Answer:
Maddie and Peggy wrote a friendly letter to Wanda. They wanted to apologise for their behaviour but they ended up asking her whether she liked her new school and teacher. They informed her about her sketches winning the drawing competition. They praised her drawing skills and also told how much other students liked her art. The letter was just a usual letter one may write to a good friend.

Question 10.
Did Maddie and Peggy get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply? How do you know?
Answer:
No, they didn’t get a reply from Wanda. Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy because she was very upset and feeling sad for Wanda. She had assumed that Wanda was deeply hurt so she was not replying and blamed herself for everything. Maddie used to have sleepless nights and saw frightful dreams about Wanda.

Question 11.
How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?
Answer:
Both Maddie and Peggy realised that Wanda liked them although they had teased her because she had gifted them her two beautiful dresses, a green one with red trimmings to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. She had even drawn their faces in the painting of the dresses they got.

Thinking about the Text
(Page 79,80)

Question 1.
Why do you think Wanda’s family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family?
Answer:
Wanda’s family moved to a different city due to the racist and insulting behaviour of students towards Wanda and her brother. They were teased by other students for their funny name and blue dress. Life there in a different city was going to be different because people there did not have such a narrow mind and would not tease them because of their name or status.

Question 2.
Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right ?
Answer:
Yes, Maddie thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing because it is often said that turning a blind eye to a crime is worse than committing a crime. So by being silent she indirectly encouraged Peggy to do so.

Question 3.
Peggy says, “I never thought she had sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!”What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb ? Did she change her opinion later ?
Answer:
Wanda never replied to Peggy ‘s misbehaviour and pranks that she faced everyday. So, her neutral face and unusual behaviour led Peggy to think that Wanda was dumb. Wanda even described the hundred dresses she said about though she wore the same old faded blue dress everyday. But later Peggy’ changed her opinion after having a look on Wanda’s sketches and her gesture of gifting her a beautiful drawing from her collection.

Question 4.
What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so ?
Answer:
Maddie decided to go to Wanda’s house with Peggy to apologise and amend for all that had happened but Wanda had left her house with her family. She felt bad because she thought of herself as a coward who did not stop Peggy to insult Wanda. So, she decided to raise voice against injustice and bullying. She was firm of not being a mute spectator anymore.

Question 5.
Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses ? Why are they surprised ?
Answer:
When Maddie and Peggy wrote a letter to Wanda, she might have understood their feelings behind their letter and during the dresses game, she had observed both of them. So she requested Miss Mason to give two of her drawings to them and had taught them a lesson of life. Maddie and Peggy were surprised as she gifted them the drawings with their faces.

Question 6.
Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her ? Why or why not ?
Answer:
Wanda was aware of the misbehaviour of the girls who teased her everyday “but she remained calm. To keep them mum she fabricated a story of having a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of matching shoes in her closet. She taught them a lesson of life by the drawings of the hundred beautiful dresses she claimed to have.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 6 Amanda (poem)

Thinking about the Poem
(Page 62)

Question 1.
How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Answer:
Amanda is about a 9-10 year old school going girl. She is being scolded for things typical for that particular age. Her parents are trying to inculcate in her good manners and etiquettes. Amanda is very innocent and immature.

Question 2.
Who do you think is speaking to her?
Answer:
One of her parents is speaking to her. Most probably it is her mother. In a traditional household mother is held responsible for the conduct of child. In this case also, the range of instructions suggests that the speaker is Amanda’s mother.

Question 3.
Why are stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
Answer:
Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they reflect the inner thoughts of Amanda. They can be taken as the reaction of the child for the instructions given in stanzas 1, 3 and 5. Here, there is an alternate sequence of scolding of the mother, and corresponding reaction to it given by the child. Also, parenthesis is used here to make the reading of ‘ the poem friendly

Question 4.
Who is the speaker in stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is listening to the speaker in stanzas 1, 3, 5 and 7?
Answer:
Speaker of the stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is the child, Amanda. No, she is not paying any attention to the speaker of stanzas 1, 3 and 5 as she is lost in a world of her own. Her imagination provides her an escape from her sorry reality.

Question 5.
What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
Answer:
Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so she could carelessly move along on a languid emerald sea. She just wishes to be carried away by the green sea waves slowly and gradually. Amanda longs for a place where she is all by herself as her happiness is not dependant on any other human being. Hence, she desires to be a mermaid because for a child, mermaid is a symbol of freedom and wonder.

Question 6.
Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
Answer:
No, Amanda is not an orphan, though she wishes to be one. She is so much stressed with the continuous nagging of her parents that she imagines herself to be better without them. The mere presence of her parents around her depresses her. Amanda is a little girl who seeks ‘golden’ silence and ‘sweet’ freedom. She wishes to roam around streets and draw patterns with her bare feet. Indeed it is horribly depressing that Amanda expects being an orphan.

Question 7.
Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
Answer:
Story of Rapunzel – Rapunzel’s story revolves around her life on a tower Rapunzel was made to live on a high tower by a witch. She eventually got used to living there. She was happy and satisfied with her life. Rapunzel had very long golden hair, using which the witch used to pay her a visit. The fate of Rapunzel took a turn when one day a prince came to meet her using her hair. The witch had punished both of them by separating them. Finally they met after a couple of years only to be united forever this time. Amanda Wishes to live like Rapunzel on a high tower away from everyone. She seeks peace and harmony. That is the reason Amanda wishes to be like Rapunzel. However, she also makes a point that in order to avoid being disturbed she would never let her hair down for anyone to climb to her. She needs no one to make her life happy.

Question 8.
What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Answer:
A girl like Amanda yearns for freedom and space for herself. She is incapable to fulfil the expectations of her parents. Amanda is no less than a symbol for all the children who face similar fate irrespective of class, colour or nationality. Traditional societies demand a certain type of behaviour from the individuals and the training to produce such begins at a very young age. Parents ignore the innocence and understanding level of their children and thereby the young ends up killing their imagination and thoughts.

Question 9.
Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
Answer:
No, Amanda is neither sulking nor moody. She is simply not interested enough in the nagging business of her parents. Amanda cares more about her imagination and thought process over the manners her parents are trying to inculcate into her.